On Wednesday a case was filed in the District Court for Massachusetts by Danish hospital Rigshospitalet against Shire-NPS Pharmaceuticals, Inc and Takeda Pharmaceuticals Inc. The case is regarding violation of contract and twenty-three counts of theft of patent.
Righospitalet, the complaint explained, is an affiliated hospital of the University of Copenhagen and hosted Dr. Per Brøbech Mortensen and Dr. Palle Bekker Jeppesen in their research of Short Bowel Syndrome. Short Bowel Syndrome, the complaint said, causes malnutrition due to inability of the body to absorb nutrients.
Shire-NPS, the defendant, allegedly sponsored a study for this process and as a part of the study, a contract was signed as to rights in the resultant patent. The contract assigned all patent rights to Rigshospitalet and the doctors, while granting a one-year option to obtain a worldwide, royalty-bearing, exclusive license to any such patents to Shire. Instead, plaintiffs argue that Shire filed patent applications in the United States and did not name the doctors as inventors. The plaintiffs also argue that Shire deliberately concealed their actions, preventing Rigshospitalet from filing interference actions prior to this suit.
The plaintiffs are suing for infringement of patents regarding the 23 different patents that Shire applied for in violation of the contract. Plaintiffs are also suing for unjust enrichment, fraudulent nondisclosure, conversion, and unfair and deceptive trade practices. Plaintiffs are represented by Morrison & Foerster.
